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Travel
Wandering Through Valencia General Cemetery On All Saints Day
Though Halloween is popular among the teenagers of Valencia, it's also quite different from what you'd imagine. As thousands of them hit the streets on the night of 31st of October, in an intent to show off their scary costumes, the truth is the 'see and be seen' is not the main attraction. What should be a small parade of walking dead, witches, kitties and a few vampires, it ends up in a huge street party where the young faces enjoy a drink or two and end up drunk. It's strange how the age limit seems to be somewhere around 25. And it's really hard to see older people walking the streets of Valencia on the Halloween night, except for the police who try really hard to keep everything under control.
The 1st of November sheds new light on the city however, as everything gets quiet again and people of all ages visit the cemeteries in silence and remember the departed. Flower vendors make good business on All Saints' Day, and families gathered together and drive for miles between cemeteries and sometimes even between cities to visit the graves of the no-longer-here loved ones. For the ones who cannot make it, the cemetery personnel takes care the departed are honored properly, for a small fee.
I took these photos in the General Cemetery from Valencia, and as I said about the Monumental Cemetery from Milan too, these places are not sad, nor spooky. They are simply open air museums with magnificent architecture and with a love story behind each gravestone. I strongly recommend you take into consideration visiting the General Cemetery on your next trip to Valencia. The place looks just as great on any day of the year, it's free and never crowded with living people. I don't know if the dead ones will be grateful for your visit or not, but the cats wandering around the cemetery will surely appreciate your attention and maybe even being petted.
Tip to lighten up the mood: The Spanish All Saints' Day traditional sweets have a pretty spooky name - Huesos de Santo (literally 'saint's bones'). Nevertheless, these are delicious small pieces of marzipan and yolk cream and are rather yummy.
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- Have Dinner In South Africa
Voulezvousdiner Have just launched a new special offer. ...
- Photo Of The Day: Knocking At The Apostles Gate
The Apostles Gate, one of the three gates of the Valencia Cathedral What makes the Cathedral of Valencia so special in my eyes is its outstanding architecture and the mixture of styles it was built in. The main entrance is Baroque, the Apostles Gate...
- Love And Fruit Shaped Marzipan In Valencia
On October 9th, Valencia celebrates the San Dionisio Day, traditionally considered the patron saint of lovers. It's the local version of St. Valentine's Day and traditionally, men give their sweethearts a scarf (mocadora)...
- How Valencia Celebrates The International Year Of Forests
As UN has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests to raise awareness and strengthen the sustainable forest management for the benefit of current and future generations, many people and organizations mobilized resources pleading for a greener...
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Halloween at Disneyland is one of those very special times of the year when the parks get decorated with Mickey like carved, not so spooky pumpkins and there is a festive mood in the air. In the past years, Halloween has come to rival Christmas...